Defeating the Dragon
by SSBFreak
Summary: Suiko 3. Reed does the last thing people expect him to do: Stand up to Lilly. ReedxKathy, Lilly bashing


Cecile yawned as she stood at the gate of Budehuc Castle, keeping watch over anything that might be invading. Ever since the ordeal with Luc, things had quieted down dramatically, and nothing had come up in months. Not even the Zexen Council had risen again to try and take Budehuc, which was expected considering the corrupt men of the council had been fired shortly after it had been said that they had been taking bribes.

The young girl sighed. She almost wished that something would happen because it had gotten so quiet. Most of the members of the army had gone off to do their own thing, and only a select few had stayed behind in Budehuc. Even Peggi, the lizard Blacksmith, opted to stay in Budehuc rather than go back to the Great Hollow. Maybe it was because he got more business at Budehuc, but Cecile wasn't sure.

Suddenly, Cecile heard footsteps approaching. Not sure whom it was going to be, Cecile raised her spear and shield, expecting a fight.

"Wait here." A familiar voice said. "I won't be a minute."

The owner of the voice then came into view. Cecile instantly recognized the oversized hat, long hair and purple outfit of the woman that approached, and lowered her weapon. "Miss Pendragon? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I'm looking for Reed." Lilly said, an angry look on her face. "That ungrateful weasel ran off a couple months ago and I know he would have come here."

If it was anyone else, Cecile would had talked back for calling Reed such a name, but this was Lilly Pendragon. If she got angry (which was very often), she would scream at whoever was nearby. It was because of this horrible attitude that Lilly never made many friends at Budehuc. If Cecile remember properly, Lilly was kicked out of the library, banned from stepping on Nadir's stage again and was forbidden to use the elevator as a result of her attitude towards everyone else.

Cecile knew where Reed was. He had indeed come here those months ago to reunite with his girlfriend, the rancher Kathy. Since coming back, he had taken up the job as Kathy's assistant at the ranch, but always helped out whenever he could.

"Uh…He's at the ranch, Miss Pendragon." Cecile said, unsure if she should have told Lilly. "Why?"

Lilly didn't answer. She simply brushed past Cecile, not offering a thank-you.

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Reed whistled a tune as he continued to shovel hay into the horse's stables with his pitchfork. He never thought he'd be happier to do manual labour, but he was. Ever since he and Samus had run away from Tinto, the only thing on Reed's mind was coming back to Budehuc, this time for good.

Kathy was the person happiest to see Reed again. This seemed obvious, considering that she was his girlfriend during the Fire Bringer War. Thomas had said that she hadn't been acting herself since Reed had left, but now that he was back, she was being her usual cheerful self again.

Reed helped everyone out as much as he could, but his main job was helping Kathy at the ranch. He was always amazed she could handle it all by herself during the war, so he figured that she desperately needed the extra help.

Earlier this morning, Kathy had felt that she was coming down with a cold, and had gone to the doctor's office to see what the problem was. Reed wasn't sure what the problem was, but he didn't mind, though. If he could help Kathy, he's do it. She was currently resting in her room in the mansion.

Reed stopped his work for a second to wipe his forehead with his sleeve. Despite the fact that he was working hard, he smiled. His life was going great, and it seemed that nothing could go wrong.

"REED!"

He had to think it, didn't he?

Reed turned at the sound of the furious scream and saw his former employer, Lilly Pendragon, whom double as the biggest brat in Tinto, storming over.

"You have a LOT to answer for, Reed!" Lilly shouted as she came over.

Reed sighed. "What're you doing here, Lilly?" He asked dully.

Lilly stopped. "Did you just say 'Lilly'?" She asked. "If I recall, you're supposed to call me 'milady'!"

"In case you forgot, I left Tinto months ago." Reed pointed out. "That means that I quit my job. Now, what are you doing here?"

"I can't BELIEVE you would abandon your job to come back to this dump!" Lilly shouted. "Let alone return to that airhead of a girlfriend you had!"

"If all you came here to do is talk about Kathy like that, I suggest you turn around and leave right now." Reed said, pointing at Lilly.

"You're coming back to Tinto with me, Reed." Lilly said coldly, folding her arms. "You're going to resume being me servant."

"Oh, I don't think so." Reed said simply. "There's no way I'm returning with you."

"You can't be serious." Lilly said. "You're job there was way better than the job you apparently have here."

"No, this one is the better one." Reed narrowed his eyes. "In case you forgot, you treated Samus and I like dirt and made us do all the work while you sat back and relaxed. Here, they treat me equally and do their share of the work." He shoved his pitchfork into the pile of hay he was shoveling out of and started counting on his fingers. "I have a great job, made lots of friends and have the best girlfriend any guy could ask for. If you think I would throw it all away to go back to working for a spoiled, whiney, self-absorbed brat like you, you're highly mistaken."

Lilly eyes snapped open, then narrowed. "You DARE say that about me! Your loyalty lies with me!"

"My loyalty lies with Thomas!" Reed shouted back. "He took me in without a second thought. If I remember, when you found out I was going to be one of your SLAVES, you complained for two days!"

"It should have been an honour to work for someone as important as me!" Lilly said, full of herself as usual. "How could you choose that…That…That COMMONER over me!"

"Kathy's no commoner!" Reed said, getting extremely angry. "She's kind, friendly, cheerful, helpful and loving! Five things you have never been and most likely never WILL be! You say you're more 'important' than her, but in my opinion, she's ten times the woman you'll EVER be!"

Lilly narrowed her eyes. "I've come to take you back to Tinto, Reed. I intend to do so!"

"Well, you're out of luck!" Reed said. "I'm not going back, let alone with someone like you!"

Lilly started seething. "What happened to the old Reed! The one that did whatever I told him to!"

"That Reed is long dead, Lilly." Reed said, standing straight. "Quitting my job at Tinto was the best decision of my life, and now that I've got a great life going here, there's no way I'm returning to the days of old."

"This is all Kathy's fault, isn't it!" Lilly asked, furious that she wasn't getting what she wanted. "See what that airhead has done to you! You've become a commoner, just like her!"

Reed stared down Lilly with a glare that could have set a forest ablaze. Lilly's angry expression vanished when she realized Reed towered over her.

"You continue talking about Kathy like that and I will kick you out of Budehuc myself." Reed said icily. "This is your only chance, Lilly. Leave Budehuc now. I'll never be interested in becoming your slave again, so go pester your rich father for some new slaves."

Lilly quickly covered her fear with another angry look. "FINE! You want to take that girl over me, BE THAT WAY!" Lilly said as she stepped back casually. "I'm never coming back here, Reed! So you can very well KEEP this stupid job and that blonde girlfriend!"

The furious girl turned around and walked away. Reed grabbed his pitchfork again and started shoveling hay again.

After about thirty yards, Lilly turned around again. "AND DON'T YOU COME CRAWLING BACK TO TINTO FOR YOUR JOB BACK!" She screamed. "YOU WON'T GET IT!"

"That's fine!" Reed called back casually as he continued to work.

Lilly growled, stamped her foot, spun around and stormed off, leaving Reed alone again.

Seeing that he had chased Lilly off, Reed smiled. "Well, she's not coming back. Heh. I think I just did Bubdehuc a favour."

A couple hours later and Reed was still working. This time, he was grooming Kathy's favourite horse. Lilly was long gone, as were the Tinto soldiers she had come with. No one minded that she wasn't coming back. None of the staff remaining at Budehuc really liked Lilly that much anyway.

Reed suddenly heard a tune being whistled. He stopped grooming the horse and turned his head, seeing Kathy walking over. Reed smiled as he walked over to his girlfriend to meet her.

"What did the doctor say?" Reed asked.

"Oh, it's nothing big, Reed." Kathy chuckled. "It's just a small cold. It should clear up by tomorrow." She paused. "Say. The staff says that there was a lot of shouting coming from here earlier. What happened?"

Reed smirked and placed a quick kiss on Kathy's cheek. "Oh, it's nothing. I just scared off an annoying vulture."

END


End file.
